MEET THE REAL BOB

Before you get to know about our business, you need to meet the man behind it — Bob Moore. You'll recognize his friendly face on our products and if you ever tour our mill or visit the Bob's Red Mill Whole Grain Store and Visitor's Center you might even get to meet the man himself. For over three decades, Bob has been committed to providing people everywhere with the best quality foods available.

His passion for health and belief in taking care of one another is as strong today as it was when he first started the business with his wife, Charlee, all those years ago. Bob plays a fundamental role in the daily operations of the business and his enthusiasm and 'honest-to-goodness' approach are shared with every of one his employees. It's this passion for providing the very best nutritional whole grains that has helped make us the leading name in health foods across the country.

How Bob's red mill began

Bob's journey began serendipitously in the mid '60s after coming across a book about old stone-grinding flour mills. His enthusiasm was immediate and he decided to find usable stone mills, which were becoming rarer due to the domination of high-speed steel roller mills. His persistence paid off. Equipped with several sets of millstones from an old North Carolina water-powered flour mill, Bob and his wife, Charlee, began their first mill in Redding, California.

After a few years, they decided to pursue other interests and retired to Oregon City, Oregon, in 1978. On an afternoon walk, Bob came across an old mill that, as luck would have it, had a big sign out front reading “for sale.” In just a few short months, he was able to source a beautiful old mill that could stone grind flours and cereals for local customers. Word quickly spread and Bob's Oregon City based mill enjoyed much success until 1988 when a fire destroyed the building.

Never one to back away from a challenge, Bob knew he owed it to his family of employees and loyal customers to build the business again from scratch. Rising to the challenge, he spent many years growing the business to where we are today. Our current site, located in Milwaukie, Oregon, is a 320,000 square foot facility covering some 17 acres. It produces thousands of products each day, all made with the same good old-fashioned techniques our customers have come to love and trust since our beginning.

A name you can trust

Trust, honesty and integrity. These are the three principles our business is built on. Our packaging is a great example of this commitment: our clear bags let you see the high quality of every one of our products. By producing the very best in whole grain foods, we're able to fulfill our commitment to help look after more and more people through better nutrition. Bob simply wouldn't have it any other way.

An employee-owned business

Bob's 81st birthday was particularly special. Rather than receiving gifts, he decided to give his greatest gift away — his business. Bob surprised all his employees by giving them total ownership of Bob's Red Mill through an Employee Share Ownership Program (ESOP). For those who know Bob, it's yet another example of his kind-hearted generosity. As Bob puts it "It was just the right thing to do. I have people that have worked with me for over 30 years and each and every one of them deserve this."

You can rest assured that every Bob's Red Mill employee is committed to sourcing, milling, testing, packaging, labeling and selling the finest products available. After all, it is our business.
Watch Bob's Interview with Diane Sawyer »